Even though they are a inherently a little bit sickeningly bit self-indulgent and send me into a crisis over my own star-struck and/or voyeuristic tendencies, I cannot resist the “What are your essentials” features with celebs in magazines.

It’s a total love/hate situation. Every month when I flip to the page in Vanity Fair that chronicles a famous person’s list of must-haves, I inevitably go through a chain of thought similar to this: “Who cares what stuff you can’t live without??” … “Is that an Aston Martin? You seriously can’t live without an Aston Martin?” … “Oh wait, what skincare line does she love?” … “While I’m here I might as well see what her favorite brand of sheets is…” and I end up reading the whole darn thing. With interest.

I can’t explain it, but getting a peek at other people’s essential goods is oddly enticing. It’s like getting personal recommendations from someone and getting a little snapshot of their style/vanities all at the same time.

For NYFW, Vogue teamed up with The Coveteur to check out various fashiony people’s essentials for “getting through fashion week.” (While we’re sharing usually unshared chains of thought, I know it’s a busy week for those in the industry, but I have fairly little sympathy for industry folk when they talk about what they “need” to “get through” fashion week… despite the hectic pace, it still sounds pretty darn fun!)

But back on topic, I loved, without shame, these little vignettes of the subjects’ essentials, as much for their content as for the styling. As I’ve said before, anything in a collage looks more appealing, but these compositions are particularly well-done.

Is there a set of “essentials” that would capture your style?

[From top left, essentials of: Gucci Westman, Prabal Garung, Jessica Sailer, Kate Young, Stephanie Wolkoff, Laura Bellafronto]

• Tweet